MOSCOW. July 29 (Interfax-AVN) - The federal budget for 2003 allocates over RUB700m (USD23.3m) for implementing the TU-334 short-range passenger plane development project, Senior Vice President of the Tupolev JSO Gennady Kortnev said on Tuesday.
"Today I can say for sure that development of the TU-334 plane and its certification tests will be performed in full and before the deadlines fixed by a Russian government resolution. Over RUB700m is allocated for this project from the 2003 budget," Kortnev told reporters.
Budget funding amounts to about 70 percent of the funds required for the plane's development, he said. According to him, certification tests of the aircraft will be completed this year.
"The flight readiness certificate will be obtained for the plane before the end of the year," Kortnev said.
The Aviant plant located in Ukraine's Kyiv will complete construction of the second TU-334 in the near future, he went on.
"The plane will be delivered to Zhukovsky near Moscow for certification work in early August," he said.
The press service of the MIG aircraft corporation has reported that the construction of an up-to-date assembly shop is nearing completion in the Lukhovitsy district of the Moscow region. The work is underway in the framework of the corporation's main production facilities upgrade and optimization program. MIG is funding the shop's construction and all work related to the TU-334 out of the profits from contracts on military hardware exports. The total volume of expenses amounts to about USD47m.
According to the press service, Russia will get the possibility to mass produce the TU-334 and perform its after- sales servicing before spring next year. The aircraft is capable of replacing the outdated TU-134 Crusty and TU-154 Careless, primarily on the domestic market.